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THE SMART NEWS SOURCE | Feb 10 2010 01:35 | LAST UPDATED Feb 10 2010 01:35 |
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Namibians began voting on Friday in general elections expected to return the ruling South West Africa People's Organisation (Swapo) to power, despite a tough challenge from a new breakaway party. Long queues formed outside voting stations across the country before polls opened at 7am. Armed with camping chairs, umbrellas and water bottles many mostly elderly people waited patiently for their turn to cast their votes for the president and parliamentary representatives. "I am almost there now," said 74-year-old Hilma Hitjeevi, pointing at the entrance of a green tent set up in the yard of a police station at Wanaheda, outside the capital Windhoek. Voting started up to an hour late in smaller towns like Karibib, about 180km west of Windhoek, due to minor logistical problems, organisers said. "So far we are satisfied with the process since the start this morning," said Victor Tonchi, chairperson of the Electoral Commission of Namibia. "We have not received major complaints so far," he told Agence France-Presse. President Hifikepunye Pohamba is seeking a second term in office but faces a new challenge from the upstart Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP). Former foreign minister Hidipo Hamutenya launched the new party two years ago after he lost his bid to take over Swapo following the retirement of liberation leader Sam Nujoma in 2004.  CONTINUES BELOW The two parties are the biggest of 12 putting forward candidates for the presidency, with RDP claiming about 250 000 supporters from an estimated 1,1-million voters. Hamutenya was a popular figure within Swapo, and he hopes to tap into dissatisfaction with the ruling party, which has ruled since independence in 1990. He voted in the early hours of the morning at a poling station in the capital Windhoek. "I am here to exercise my democratic right like any other citizen," he said. This is the fourth democratic election for the sparsely populated dessert nation since independence from apartheid South Africa in 1990. Five years ago Swapo took three-fourths of the vote for both president and Parliament -- the same result as the 1999 polls. The RDP doesn't expect to win, but does hope to become the main opposition party. Tensions between the two parties have occasionally turned violent, with stonings and intimidation directed at RDP members. Some Swapo loyalists have declared some meeting spaces "no go areas" for the breakaway group. But overall the election campaign has been low key, with Swapo taking credit for roads, clinics and classrooms built in the past five years but being vague about future targets. Most opposition parties promise free education, appealing to the poorest Namibians whose children often drop out because they cannot afford the much-hated "school development fees". The opposition also say they will fight corruption and nepotism in government. Voters receive one ballot to select a party for parliament and one to vote directly for presidential candidates. Polling stations are to remain open until 9pm Friday and reopen on Saturday for a second day of voting. For the first time, counting will start directly after voting and results will be posted outside of each polling station. However, final results will officially be announced several days later. -- Sapa-AFP TOPICS IN THIS ARTICLE
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